I do know you need to check rpm on that mower they are suppose to be 3750rpm free load! Also I do know that dixie has discontinued all of there 26hp diesel mowers so I hope you got a great deal on it. There are a few guys here that run them and they seem pretty good.

Just go to your local amaco dealer and get the 300 that is for gas or diesel - I have 5000 hrs on a 332 JD that I bought in 1988 and it still purrrrrrrrrreeeeees like a kitten - uses no oil until 110 hrs which it has done since new, and I have no carburator repairss, no sparkkk plug replacements. -------- Just have to keep clean air and fuel going to the engine, and that !!!!!!!!!!

Is what Dixie Chopper does best, as they double filter about everything. - By the way - check out the 60" deck with the flex-deck attachment - you will love it.

I'd say just run it normal, and use what Yanmar suggests, a diesel certified 15W-40. Change it every 100 hours with the filter and you'll be fine. The benefits of extended drain intrevals for synthetics isn't all that desireable in a diesel due to the soot that deisels leave in the oil. Just use a good quality Dino Diesel oil, and change it often.

diesels definetly do use extended drain intervals, look at over the road trucks, they are up to 50,000 miles. now, those trucks run for long periods at operating tempature, with few starts and stops and shutdowns